Sheer curiosity has made the secretaries in the Dean of students office a little more familiar than the average secretary with the resources available on campus.

“We have a secretaries’ tour the fourth Wednesday of every month,” said Patty Buckley, secretary in the dean of students office. “We usually go in the morning around 10, depending on coverage in the office.”

Each tour lasts about 30 to 45 minutes, said Chris Patton, secretary to the dean.

The secretaries started touring campus to become better informed with what offices and centers on campus have to offer, Buckley said.

“It gives you a chance to see the different areas on campus and to see what other people do,” she said. “It is interesting to see the jobs other people do.”

The idea of the tours was inspired by a trip to the Lied Recreation Center the secretaries took out of curiosity, said Sandy Foltz, coordinator for the Dean of Students office.

“It was such a good experience we kept it up,” she said. Soon, the tours became a monthly event.

The secretaries have been taking these tours for about a year and a half and have traveled to many places across campus, Patton said.

They have wandered through a stalactite-filled cave on a virtual reality tour in Black Engineering, toured student apartments at Hawthorn Court, viewed the activities at Recreation Services, watched kids in the children’s development laboratory in the Palmer Building and seen how greeks live in a sorority house.

“I really liked the sorority house, because I’d never been in one before,” Buckley said.

The secretaries have two meetings a month – a discussion period and the tour. All the secretaries discuss the possibilities and decide as a group. They take turns making the appointments and setting up the tours, Foltz said.

The tours have proven to help the secretaries field incoming calls from students, parents and other staff and faculty members, Buckley said.

“It’s really nice to be able to see other aspects of ISU,” Patton said. “If someone calls with a question we can say `oh yeah,’ and I know what they’re talking about. It gets you to be a little more familiar with the ISU campus.”

Buckley said the tours have been useful.

“I think it’s good to have the knowledge we are learning for students who come in, parents who call and other employees,” she said.

“You feel like you get to know more areas and know more about Iowa State.”

The tours are beneficial for things outside of the office, the secretaries said.

“It’s enjoyable. It’s something very positive, still related to Iowa State, but also personal,” Patton said. “It’s a good time that the office staff can get together outside of the office. It helps develop the working relationships.”

Foltz said the whole program has been a success.

“It’s been a great experience for all of us,” she said. “I appreciate the support of the dean for letting us do this.”

The secretaries agreed that if it weren’t for these tours, they would not know as much about Iowa State.

“Some of these places I wouldn’t have gotten to,” Foltz said.

“I wish some people would come see us to see what we do.”